WR Shepard Placed on Injured Reserve

The Buccaneers have moved WR Russell Shepard, a special teams standout, to injured reserve and made a pair of moves on the practice squad, including the signing of WR Tommy Streeter

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Rookie WR Russell Shepard had contributed significantly on special teams before suffering a season-ending toe injury

WR Tommy Streeter, a former Miami Hurricane, has been added to the practice squad

The Bucs began Wednesday's practice with one open spot on the 53-man roster

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense has borne the brunt of the team's injuries in 2013, and the latest player headed to injured reserve is wide receiver Russell Shepard. In reality, however, that's a more significant blow to the Buccaneers' special teams efforts.

Shepard, who sustained a season-ending toe injury in Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, has spent most of his rookie campaign contributing to Tampa Bay's kick-and-return game. One of the two outside "gunners" on most of the Buccaneers' punts, Shepard ranks third on the team with six special teams tackles and has also forced a fumble in that phase of the game.

Shepard's move to IR opened up a spot on the Buccaneers' 53-man roster, which had not been filled by the time the team took the practice field on Wednesday morning. The Bucs did sign a new player to the practice squad, bringing in second-year wide receiver Tommy Streeter and releasing center Richard Clebert. Clebert, had signed with the team just last week.

Shepard, who played a variety of positions including quarterback at Louisiana State, entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in May but came to the Buccaneers as a waiver claim on September 1. He appeared in each of the Buccaneers' first 14 games.

-- WR R. Shepard is third on the team with six special teams tackles

The 6-5, 215-pound Streeter was a sixth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2012 after playing his college ball at the University of Miami. He was the Hurricanes' leading receiver as a junior in 2011, catching 46 passes for 811 yards and eight touchdowns before skipping his senior season to declare for the draft. He spent his rookie season with Baltimore on injured reserve due to a foot injury, then was waived by the Ravens near the end of this past preseason. Streeter subsequently spent most of the 2013 season on Buffalo's practice squad.